Four workplace design factors for 2018

Good workplace design can help to enhance productivity, attract the best people and improve staff retention.

With culture and engagement cited in a Deloitte survey as one of the top challenges for 87% of organisations, better workplace provision is almost certainly a key step to improving both, and delivering better employee satisfaction levels.

With Millennials, those born between 1977 and 1995, and Centennials, those born after 1996, now emerging in big numbers in the workplace, expectations are changing. Any employers who are not already reconfiguring their workspaces to fit these expectations will need to start doing so.

Here are four trends that will impact on workplace design in 2018:

Health and wellbeing

Wellbeing is now recognised by workplace designers as a key objective. Buildings not only need to be sustainable and energy efficient, but to inspire and encourage productivity.

Increasing employee comfort not only gets work done quicker, but helps people to feel positive about coming to work every day.

Ergonomically designed furniture and accessories can help reduce the number of sick days and show people that their health is valued. Designing a workplace so that people are able and encouraged to sit, stand and move around is all important.

Sit-stand workstations are just one aspect. These allow users to adjust their working height to tasks throughout the day.

Collaborative work spaces

Employees who have more choice over where and how they work are said to be more engaged.

Many Millennials and Centennials have grown up regarding the ‘tech giant’ office environment as highly desirable. These buildings usually include collegiate spaces for people to relax, hold informal meetings or work in peace. Offices across the globe are adopting these newer, less traditional work and meeting spaces to attract the best talent.

From a business perspective, designing in collaborative workspaces will encourage teamwork, allow ideas to travel between teams, and enable people to mix and match skills according to day to day needs.

Play

Playing can have a positive impact on the brain by boosting motivation, enhancing memory and encouraging efficiency. Pool tables and arcade games may appear frivolous to some, but for companies like Google, which gains ‘best place to work’ accolades in many studies, a culture that recognises people are more than human capital is more likely to succeed.

A home from home

From Centennials to Generation X, the demands on our time are ever multiplying. Many employees are working longer hours and the office is somewhere many of us spend ever more time.

Younger generations’ extensive use of technology means that the line between work and home is much more blurred for many, although research on Millennials seems to suggest that many would prefer to work in an office than alone.

All of this suggests that designing for a seamless work-life integration is much more vital. This means the provision of break out, dining and leisure spaces so that people have somewhere to relax, eat and chat when they’re putting in longer shifts.

With Banner your furniture project can become much easier. We take great pride in ensuring you get the very best result. For more details call our furniture team on 0845 230 8133 or email furniture@BannerUK.com

Procurement Insights: For more insights join Banner on LinkedIn or follow us on Twitter